Category Archives: Proud Mommy

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I’ve been doing pretty good with my healthy eating. I lost another 1.2 pounds for a total of 9 POUNDS!I am so excited and feel great. I love the feeling of being in control of food and eating healthy food that doesn’t make me sick. Plus cutting out those modified foods, processed foods, and switching tomatoes for tomato sauce has made me feel better.

So now onto our meals for last week. I was recently asked why I post meals that are a week behind. Though it would be easier to list our meal plan for the current week, I prefer to show you what our meal plan was last week, how the meals went, and if Dino approved. I also like to show our lunches and how we are sticking to a plan and eating healthy.

Sunday – Daddy and Dino Dinner (Mommy had a girl’s day and came home after dinner. Turns out that Dino and Daddy had a visit from hubby’s parents. So Dino got lots of attention from his Daddy, Grandma, and Grandpa)

Friday – Pasta, Broccoli and cauliflower (forgot to take a pic…it was just SO GOOD!)

Saturday – I was alone Saturday night…it was glorious. I had a beautiful lunch with my sister at the EverReady Diner. I got the BIG APPLE WRAP. I wish I had taken a pic, it was delicious and yummy. I ate half at the diner and half for dinner.

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LUNCHES…

Between using EasyLunchBoxesand planning what I eat ahead of time, I am in control at work and I know Dino is eating healthy at school.

WEDNESDAY:Mommy– chicken salad with veggies in mini pita, carrots, grapes, pears, one granola barDino-wanted to order pizza from school so he’ll have grapes and carrots along with his pizzaDino Morning Snack-nutri-grain bar, cinnanmon teddy grahams, pears

SATURDAY:|Mommy-(eating on my own. Daddy was camping and Dino was with my parents, LaLa and PopPop) I met my sister for lunch at the Eveready Diner and had an awesome meal. I had the “Big Apple Wrap.” It was a spinach wrap with apples, chicken breast, pecans, cranberries, blue cheese, and honey mustard vinaigrette. Can you say DELICIOUS? It was so big that I ate half there and saved the other half for dinner.

Okay, as I sit here trying to decide what to write I’m stumped. I mean, I’m 38 years old, I’ve had some good years that I could write about. Or should I write about some decades before my time that I would have loved to have been a part of? WARNING…you know this was a last minute post because of the lack of photos!

After a good twenty minutes of searching for ideas and links to some favorite movies and TV shows I decided that I could NOT stick to one decade.

Seriously, the 70’s were pretty darn good, I mean I was born and so was my hubby!

Then, even though I resented her for many years, the 80’s DID bring my sister.

Though I hated my time in elementary school, I did graduate in ’89, so that made the ending of the 80’s perfect.

Even though I was so weird and annoying, I did graduate high school in ’93 and start college in ’95. Hell I spend the rest of the 1990’s in college and started teaching. So that was a pretty awesome decade.

I continued to teach and earn my Master’s in ’00 and got married in ’01, so that was amazing as well. But then as we tried to become parents that didn’t go so well. I Those were some dark years, but at the end of the decade we finally became parents. In ’09 we we had our miracle, so what a way to end the decade, right?

DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN? How could I just pick one decade to say was the best. I could say Dino’s decade rocked out all the others, but all those years brought us together. So without my childhood, awkward teens, college years and marriage, and infertility I may very well not have had Dino.

Though, I am looking forward to the current decade. Dino will be starting kindergarten in the fall and leaving the day care he has known since he’s been 6 months. I was laid off and now am working again and despite the stinky commute do love what I do. There are so many things to look forward to, so many journeys to take, experiences to discover, and joys to feel I am looking forward to the decades yet to come. I miss my little baby, but can’t wait to see the man Dino will become. I know he is going to make the world a better place and I will watch with rapt attention and love.

On Sunday, we had our favorite most versatile meal, Italian Bread Pizza…I swear I could eat this every night and it would be so different based on the toppings.

On Monday night, we had Pasta shells with sauteed peas and tomatoes. Tomato sauce makes me sick, but fresh tomatoes seasoned and sauteed I can handle. Even better when mixed with frozen peas and a bit of diced onion…the taste is amazing. After the veggies were done and the pasta was cooked, I tossed the veggies over the pasta and mixed it all up. Then I sprinkled a bit of Parmesan and mozzarella cheese on top. I didn’t over do it on the cheese, just a bit..enough for some stickiness and flavor.

Dino ate every last bite of his dinner…it was easy and a BIG hit.

On Tuesday we had homemade Chinese Food and it rocked. We recently bought Chinese food and it was too expensive and the amount in each container shrunk. Janine suggested making our own, so I did. Thanks for the idea babe.I used white rice, frozen Asian stir fry veggies, and chicken breasts which I marinated. I baked the chicken and veggies in our cast iron skillet. The meal was PERFECT and a new family favorite. We are going to make it again next week.

On Wednesday, I decided to just throw the leftover pasta, tomatoes and peas in the French Onion Soup with with Cannellini Beans.

On Thursday we had leftover pizza…mmmmm…still so good.

On Friday, I made another favorite, rice and beans.

On Saturday I experimented with potato gnochi and ground pork casserole. I LOVED it, Dino thought it was okay, Hubby ate bowl full, but didn’t ask for more. Well at least the leftovers are all mine.

I cooked the ground pork, broccoli, and cauliflower in the cast iron skillet. Then added it to the tray. Then I sprinkled the onion, mushroom seasoning on top of the pork mixture. Next I scooped the half cooked gnochi on top. After fully cooked in oven, sprinkle with cheese and let melt.

In retrospect, I could have mixed it all together in the cast iron skillet…oh well.

Sorry I have been absent…but I am back and hoping to keep on my schedule. There are so many blog hops I would like to join on Tuesdays, but it is easier for me to join the ones that post on Monday night.

I am trying to save money, eat healthier, and stay organized. I will post my meal plans on subsequent Tuesdays with all the meals I have cooked with that plan. Two of the meals will be meatless…it just saves money. I could eat roast beef sandwiches and chicken parm every day…seriously I love meat and chicken, but it costs money.

sandwich, carrots with ranch dressing, raisins veggie sticks, cheese sticks, fishies, and flavored water. He gets a lunch, morning snack and afternoon snack. They also provide snacks there on occasion and get gets a bottle of water in which they refill as often as needed.

Another lunch…carrots with ranch dressing, flavored water, apples, pretzels, fishies, and going to add oatmeal in the am.

Now you are probably wondering about the sandwiches…well I am glad you asked. Now I try to eat healthier bread, sometimes I do and other times I give in have the white bread that Daddy and Dino love. Instead of mayo though, Dino and I LOVE hummus on our bread. That’s right…HUMMUS instead of mayo. It’s tastier and healthier.

This post is also about dinner…now while in the middle of the fridge disaster (that will be a future post as soon as it is settled). I made a BIG dinner. I had to get rid of some things and not have to worry about cooking as much for the next day.

We had meatballs and pasta I made the night before

Chicken parm tenderloins I made that night

Mommy knows it’s a good meal when everyone is too busy eating to talk or play. Dino had to be like his daddy and sit on the couch and eat. (If you don’t already know we have a super small apt and the other chairs for our table is the couch).

Now we have TONS of leftovers for the next day…heck we can even made them into meatball or chicken sandwiches.

bagels every Sunday. Every Sunday my dad would go out and get the papers, bagels, and rolls. It was our family tradition to sit around, read the paper, dunk our bagels/rolls in coffee. Hey don’t knock it…it’s beyond yummy and the coffee afterwards is divine. Whenever I do this it always brings me back to being at home, when times were simple and there were no worries in my world.

Now there are no photos of that…but my father found a BUNCH of old photos that really blew my mind. Wow…time flies way too fast.

Now I look at my son…WOW…I am where my parents were thirty years ago. Boy how time flies and lives change. It seems like only yesterday I was a little girl playing with my toys…now I have a child of my own. One day he will look back at pictures of himself as a young child…and what will I feel? What will I think? What do my parents feel right now?

do you see my horrible hair-fro…if only I could go back in time with my hair products…sighs. I’m guessing this is Christmas morning or close to it.

Mommy says my body and brain is growing. I am getting stronger and smarter, I agree.

I create really cool and amazing things with my LEGOS.

I’m creating lots of cool things in school. My teacher helps me, but I am getting better at doing more and more on my own. Look at my ghost, pumpkin book, and bat.

I’m coloring better and TRYING to stay in the lines. Mommy says I have to color lighter, when I push the crayon too hard it hurts my hand. I was a good boy while I ate at the Cheesecake Factory with Mommy and Aunt Janet. I also put my clothes on all by myself, even if I get my pants backwards sometimes…but I STILL look cool.

This week I’ve been doing a lot of chilling with my dog, Balboa. He can be grumpy sometimes, but other times he just wants to lay next to me, watch TV, and see if he can sniff an extra crumb of food.

I need to relax after working hard all week. Remember last time I got to blog and told you how much work I am doing in school…well it continues. My brain keeps growing. Do you think I might run out of space for all the new things I am learning?

I think I work even harder than Mommy and Daddy, but when Mommy picks me up she won’t let me play for a few extra minutes. That’s not fair. Can one of you talk to her about that?

Even though she won’t give me those extra few minutes to play (and she left my lunch box and water at school) I still love her. We have fun taking pictures and Mommy lets me look at them to see which are my favorites. I love being silly with Mommy.

This week’s sentence is ”One Halloween I…celebrated as a mom.“

When you are trying to have a child and it doesn’t work, you think about every special moment and holiday you will never experience as a mom. But that first Halloween with my little monkey was beautiful. Of course everything is a joyous moment when you are a mom…but even more so that I finally got to experience it. Sure he was almost 5 months old, but it was beautiful.

He was adorable in his monkey costume…so happy just to see mommy laugh and act silly. Did he understand what was going on? NOPE. Did he get to go trick or treating? NOPE Did he eat any candy? NOPE. Did I celebrate like mad, enjoying every moment? YOU BET YOUR @SS I DID!

Besides, just a few days before Halloween is my bday…so I got to celebrate my birthday as a mom…another even made special all because of a beautiful boy.

Speaking of BIRTHDAYS……

Today I am 38 years old…yes 38 and in two years I’ll be 40 and I’m looking forward to it. Age is just a number, but I am more confident and secure than I was ten years ago….

At 38 years old I’ve

survived my teen years and some tremendously stupid choices and actions

graduated high school and earned a Masters Degree

got married and despite our ups and downs, we’ve been together 18 years and married 12 years.

have a son, despite all those years of heartache and fear, I am a MOM

became a teacher, then due to budget cuts lost my job and condo

found another teaching job and slowly rebuilding and re-imagining our dreams

hated myself, tried to changed who I was, then realized I was too special and finally love who I am

lost friends I wish were still around, lost friends who weren’t friends at all, and made friends who will always be a part of my heart

It’s been easier making dinner and getting ready for work at night. I’ve been sticking to a routine and even with a few unplanned events, it still works. Even Dino knows the routine which is a blessing. I’ve been sleeping a bit better by drinking a half of glass of red wine before bed. It’s not to put me to sleep, but to keep me sleeping…but no worries I can still hear Dino if he needs me. I actually had dreams for the last three nights, though I don’t remember what they were…but I was definitely dreaming.

Now on to the meal, while slow cooker meals are great, they are not always practical and going back to what works is always best. I made a simple dinner and it was perfect since Dino was not feeling well it was perfect for him. How do I know Dino was sick? He laid down on the couch and didn’t move unless to use the bathroom. I got a few silly faces, but there were no roars, screams, jumping, and he only played with his cars or ten minutes. So this back to basic meal was great.

Goya Chicken, White Rice, and Lentil Soup.

I added olive oil, Goya Seasoning, and water to the bag with the raw chicken breasts…when ready to cook toss in some bread crumbs and shake it up. Then place in the cast iron and skillet and bake in the oven.

The Lentils Soup was from a can and the white rice from a bag (which I always add olive oil and Goya to the water). I must keep it simple!

The chicken came out perfect…always a big hit and the lentils were a nice touch with the rice. Sick Dino even ate his bowl of rice and lentils.